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Nash Outtakes

Posted Jul 9, 2012
by Aaron Portzline
| 0 comments

The Blue Jackets pursuit of a trade for captain Rick Nash has now stretched two weeks into NHL free agency. It could continue to drag on deep into the summer, into training camp in September and even into the regular season. Or it could end with one phone call.

Here are some outtakes and observations of where it stands as of this morning:

"NO, CANADA"

One aspects revealed by Nash's list of "approved" destinations -- Boston, Detroit, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Jose -- it's that he'd rather play for his country than in his country. Not one of Canada's seven NHL franchises made the list, including the club Nash grew up worshipping, the Toronto Maple Leafs. What does that say?

"It says he wants to get away," said former NHL defenseman Brian Engblom, now an NBC analyst. "Every guy is different. Look at the kid (Justin Schultz) that just signed with Edmonton as a free agent. From what I could tell, he only wanted to play in Canada. I played in Canadian and U.S. markets, and I can tell you, it is different. To each his own. Some guys thrive on being under that microscope, of having that daily pressure of everybody watching you. And some guys really don't like that."

PLAYMAKER OR STRAIGHT-LINE SKATER?

Everyone agrees, the Blue Jackets -- despite picking in the top 10 of the draft most years -- have not surrounded Nash with enough high-end talent to take the load off of his shoulders. But, a burning question during Nash's time in Columbus has been the debate regarding what kind of center Nash truly needs. His 41-goal season came with Andrew Cassels on the pivot, but in recent years he's never played better than he did with Manny Malhotra.

Most agree Nash needs the puck, which is why he might not be an obvious fit with some teams on his list.

"I don't think Pittsburgh is a great fit," said former NHL forward Ray Ferraro, now a broadcaster with TSN. "I mean, he'd probably score 8-10 more goals than he does now, but I just don't think his game is a match with (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin.

"Crosby and Malkin both need the puck to be successful. Nash's game -- the way to describe him -- is he's size with the puck. He needs the puck to be successful. He lugs it to the net. He drives the net with the puck, not so much without. Well, if Crosby and Malkin need the puck, and now you're bringing a third guy in who needs the puck ... I don't know. There's only one puck."

CHANGE NEEDED

The feeling around the NHL is that Nash will be a different player in his next stop. Could be a better play, could see a smaller role depending on the team. Either way, his game will have to morph a bit from what it's become in Columbus.

"To me, Rick Nash should not touch the puck before the offensive blue line," said former NHL forward Ed Olczyk, now a broadcaster with the Chicago Blackhawks and NBC Sports. "I mean, yeah, drop the puck back to a defenseman, sure, but he should not be carrying the puck up the ice, and you see that too much, in my opinion.

"His next team -- if you look at the teams on the list -- will have a distributing centerman and an offensive defenseman who can get the puck up the ice - bang! - right away. He needs to find somebody to play with -- somebody with high-end skill -- and play with them consistently, develop some chemistry and play off each other. Right now, teams scheme against him. It's just too easy to scheme against him the way he's played."

It has been said that Nash still has a lot of "junior" left in his game. In the junior ranks, elite players can single-handedly take over a game. Once they get to the NHL, they learn to rely on their teammates to be effective. Nash has never had the luxury of doing that. In the early years, the talent around him wasn't good enough to keep up, so he was forced to create almost all of his scoring chances. That's still how he plays a lot of nights.

"He's going to change the way he plays with his next team, you can definitely see that," Ferraro said. "He's not playing junior hockey any longer if he ends up in New York (John Tortorella) and Detroit (Mike Babcock), I'll promise you that. Those coaches will get it out of him in a hurry."

HOWSON'S DEMANDS

Much has been made of GM Scott Howson's trade demands for Nash. He has set them high, and without apology. He's taken plenty of grief -- much of it deserved, as the his club was 30th in the NHL last season -- and is no doubt in line for more abuse in the coming months.

But the worst thing he could is make a bad trade just to get this saga resolved. Not only does that not help the Blue Jackets -- short term or long term -- but, secondly, it doesn't help preserve his job as general manager. This is the kind of trade, as Ferraro noted in Sunday's Dispatch, that changes careers, one way or the other. It may become a nuisance to the fan bases who are currently on hold, but what's a few weeks in July for a GM in a desperate spot.

Said one NHL GM who is not in on trade talks for Nash: "I don't blame Scott for waiting this out. He's not supposed to do what's right or convenient for the other teams in the league; he's supposed to do what's best of his club. I'd ask for the moon, too. You can't give away a player like that."

MAKE ROOM IN THE ROOM

Often overlooked in blockbuster trades is what impact the move might have in the dressing rooms, especially for the club acquiring the big-ticket player. Nash, with a $7.8 million cap hit, would be the highest paid player on five of the six teams he's approved. Only Pittsburgh, with Crosby and Malkin each making $8.7 million, have higher-priced players as of today. (We're talking cap hits only in this case.)

The moment Nash is acquired, somebody's off the No. 1 line, the No. 1 power play unit and maybe the penalty kill. Somebody's ice time is going to get slaughtered to fit in the new guy.

"I don't know anybody in any capacity in the league who doesn't think the world of Rick Nash," Ferraro said. "He has a reputation that's second to none in that regard. But, even if he's the greatest guy in the world, he's walking into a different situation, and he's going to be the guy who is altering the roles, who's altering the hierarchy in the room. That's just the way it works. And because of that, so much is going to be expected of him now.

"His teammates are going to be thrilled that their team is acquiring a player of that caliber. They'll be so pumped. Yeah, a couple of guys are going to lose a friend or two, and that'll suck, but they'll get over it because he's that good a player."

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